Etna, a community described as “small but mighty,” was recognized last month for its revitalization efforts.
The Green Building Alliance gave the borough its Beacon Award during its Emerald Evening event May 14 at the Union Trust Building.
The award recognized Etna’s efforts at addressing stormwater and flooding, fostering a more vibrant and attractive business district, creating welcoming family and community events, and driving neighborhood development that is welcoming and accessible, said Laura J. Ellis, spokeswoman for the Green Building Alliance.
In her speech presenting the award, Green Building Alliance President and CEO Jenna Cramer said Etna is “a community that has come together to tackle the challenges of historic disinvestment, the environmental impacts of its industrial past and at times devastating flooding.
“This neighborhood is small but mighty,” she said. “Etna Borough is a model for what can be achieved through longstanding collaboration, community engagement and a shared vision.”
Borough Manager Mary Ellen Ramage and Megan Tuñón, executive director of the Etna Community Organization, accepted the award.
“I was truly honored to stand with Mary Ellen to accept the Beacon Award,” Tuñón said. “The work that she has done to make Etna more sustainable, resilient and equitable has been transformative for the community. She has been the catalyst for all the positive change that has occurred in the borough and the inspiration behind everything ECO does. Etna is a greener and healthier place to live because of her hard work and dedication to the community.”
Tuñón’s husband, Mayor Robert Tuñón, also praised Ramage’s work.
“From the Green Streetscapes to Etna Riverfront Park, our community has completed projects that reduce the impact of flooding, improve quality of life and position Etna for long-term success,” he said. “I’m proud that people from across the region, state and country look to Etna as an example of how a small town can leverage sustainable redevelopment strategies to revitalize itself and build a brighter future for current and future generations.”
Ramage said they are particularly proud of the wording on the plaque: “For creating a vibrant and resilient community through thoughtful and forward-thinking collaboration.”
“The words ‘thoughtful’ and ‘forward thinking collaboration’ mean so much to us,” she said. “We are a small community, with a small staff, but we have done mighty things and those are from the many collaborations we have made and with such strong commitment from the community itself, from elected officials, to employees, our local businesses and our awesome residents.
“I could not be prouder to work anywhere else but alongside those just mentioned.”
Founded in Pittsburgh in 1993, the nonprofit Green Building Alliance works to make buildings in every community healthy, energy and water efficient, beautiful and resilient to the impacts of extreme weather, emergencies, rising utility costs and grid outages. It works across many sectors, including planning, design, construction and renovation to inspire change in the buildings are built, designed and operated.
Because of ongoing and at times catastrophic flooding, notably after Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Etna’s economic development has focused on stormwater. The borough has implemented a variety of green infrastructure solutions to address stormwater and reduce flooding including street reconstruction, downspout disconnection and installation of sidewalk grates and underground storage, pervious pavers, tree plantings and rain gardens.
“I love when there’s more than one benefit from something. While these things were going on and we were recovering and we were working with our upstream neighbors … on stormwater, we started working on Main Street programs,” Ramage said. “One of the things was how terrible the streetscape was, and that’s where we developed the Green Streets program. Now today, those streetscapes have really been transformed with the beautiful sidewalks and the artsy grates. Those grates capture the stormwater, they hold it underground.”
Etna was certified in 2019 as the world’s first EcoDistrict. In 2021, it celebrated the completion of the Etna Riverfront Trail and Park. This year, the borough will mark the opening of the Etna Center for Community, a community library and gathering place for which a ribbon cutting is tentatively scheduled for July 25.
“I am just so proud of the people that have lived here and are living here now, how they truly want a better place for themselves and their neighbors,” Ramage said.